Inspection campaigns find 2,000 cases of illegal taxis in first five months of 2014

TransAD and Abu Dhabi Police are cracking down on illegal taxis in the emirate.

Inspection campaigns organised by the taxi authority TransAD and Abu Dhabi Police have uncovered a phenomenon of “smuggling of passengers”, where the owners of private vehicles transport passengers for a fee as their source of income.

Some of those caught operating these illegal taxis had a fleet of private vehicles and hired unlicensed drivers.

The inspections, carried out during the first five months of this year, revealed 2,000 cases of smuggling passengers.

Punishments for this crime, set out under Law 19/2006 on Taxi Transport Regulation in Abu Dhabi, range from fines of between Dh5,000 and Dh10,000 to a 30-day jail term, or both.

Many of those caught breaking the law are repeat offenders, and TransAD has proposed amending the law to disqualify any drivers who are caught more than once.

TransAd warned the public not to use unauthorised taxis, because the vehicles are not properly equipped for the safety of passengers and may not even be insured. In addition, the drivers are not linked to an employer and cannot be easily prosecuted should any problems arise.

Yet according to Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister newspaper of The National, a large number of people in Abu Dhabi continue to use illegal taxis because of the lower fares and their availability in remote areas. Parents, in particular, often rely on them to transport their children to and from school.

TransAD said it was working in partnership with authorities to combat the problem and raise awareness of the dangers, in addition to intensifying its inspections and tightening controls, especially during peak hours.